Old math reveals new secrets about these alluring flowers | Science - National Geographic

A model developed by Alan Turing can help explain the spots on these astoundingly diverse flowers—and many other natural patterns as well, as Katherine J. Wu, Boston-based science journalist reports.

The monkeyflower species Mimulus pictus, with a unique pattern displayed on the petals.

Scientists who study monkeyflowers sometimes feel as though the plants are looking back at them. The blooms are said to resemble the faces of playful monkeys—hence the name—complete with a speckled central region that looks like a gaping mouth, helping bees zero in on their nectar-rich targets.

“It's like a friendly smile indicating safe harbor for pollinators,” says Benjamin Blackman, a plant biologist at the University of California, Berkeley. By attracting these pollinating insects, the speckled petals help ensure the plants will go on to bloom another day.

“The color contrast makes pollination more efficient, more effective,” says Yaowu Yuan, a biologist at the University of Connecticut... 

Mimulus mysteries

With models that simulate the colorful clash between activator and repressor, Yuan and Blackman can reproduce the freckles of Mimulus plants. But there’s almost certainly more to the story. “It’s a simple model,” Yuan says. “But if I’ve learned anything in biology, it’s that … in a real biological system, it’s never going to be as simple as that. The details will always be different.”
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Source: National Geographic